Sister Act

By Rev. Heidi L. Barham |  July 20, 2025

Click here to listen to the service 
  
Read Luke 10:38 – 42 (NIV)
 
Our New Testament lesson today from the Gospel of Luke picks up where we left off last week... following the Parable of the Good Samaritan.  But what we find in the verses that call for our consideration today is not another parable... instead it is actually the tale of two sisters... and so this morning I want to invite our attention to the subject: SISTER ACT.
 
Now, most of you know that on occasion, I find inspiration from movies or television... and I am sure when you saw the title of today’s sermon you assumed that there would be some reference made to the 1992 film, “Sister Act,” which starred Whoopi Goldberg as a Las Vegas lounge singer who went into witness protection at a convent disguised as a nun named, Sister Mary Clarence.
 
And if you made that assumption, you would be right. 
 
Now, for those who may not be familiar with the movie or who may have forgotten the main story line... Sister Act takes place in the convent of St. Katherine’s Parish in a run-down San Francisco neighborhood where lounge singer, Deloris Van Cartier, has been put into witness protection.
 
While this arrangement is not necessarily a match made in heaven... Deloris (now known as Sister Mary Clarence) and the other nuns have a profound impact on each other... and ultimately, the parish and the community are transformed in unforeseen and unimaginable ways. 
 
Sister Mary Clarence uses her musical gifts and talents to bring about a true metamorphosis of the church choir which in turn leads to changes in the community and brings attention to the convent... which is great for the convent and the community, but not so great for someone who is supposed to be hiding out in witness protection.
 
Sister Mary Clarence’s tendency to do things in rather unorthodox ways causes her to continually bump heads with the Reverend Mother who firmly believes in the traditional ways of doing things... making sure everything is done decently and in order... adhering strictly to the rules and honoring the customs that have been in place for centuries...  and never, ever, coloring outside of the lines.
 
Let me suggest that the Reverend Mother and Sister Mary Clarence are somewhat reminiscent of the two sisters we find in our text this morning... perhaps the two most highly recognizable sisters in the Bible... Martha and Mary, the sisters of Lazarus, the beloved friend of Jesus, whom He raised from the dead.
 
The story of these two sisters is probably not unfamiliar to most of us. 
 
Jesus and His disciples had come to a village where they stopped at the home of Jesus’ dear friends... and that is where they encountered Martha... the older of the two sisters who set about carrying out all of the hostess duties that were associated with entertaining traveling guests.
 
Well acquainted with the social graces of the day... Martha made sure that her guests were comfortable and well-fed.  I am sure she laid out the best china... whipped up all of her best dishes... and pulled out all the stops as they say.  Without a doubt she did her very best to show the greatest degree of hospitality that she could possibly muster for her distinguished guests.
 
In the meantime, however, Mary... the younger of the pair... was busy doing nothing as far as Martha was concerned... after all she was just sitting at Jesus’ feet... listening to whatever it was that He was saying to the disciples.
 
Frustrated to no end, Martha finally said to Jesus, “Master, don’t you care that my sister has abandoned the kitchen to me? Tell her to lend me a hand” (10:40, MSG).
 
And while I am sure we can probably relate to Martha’s sense of righteous indignation at her sister’s seeming lack of attention to the workload that she was carrying... I am sure we can probably all equally relate to Mary’s desire to sit at the feet of Jesus... to be in the presence of the Lord.
 
Martha was committed to fulfilling the conventional role of the woman of the house... cooking, cleaning, and serving... She lived her life steeped in tradition like the Reverend Mother. 
 
On the other hand, Mary was willing to do something different... to take advantage of the opportunity to be in Jesus’ presence in a way that some might say went outside of the box... kind of like Sister Mary Clarence putting a new spin on old hymns... breaking with convention to blend the past with the present.
 
But let me suggest that neither the film... nor our text for today... is simply a tale of two sisters – one good and one bad... or one right and one wrong... but rather these are stories of two sisters with two seemingly different perspectives on life.
 
Two different perspectives that I would suggest each of us carries inside as well... and these perspectives are not necessarily mutually exclusive... rather, these are perspectives that have the ability to shift fluidly... and often without us even taking notice of the shift.
 
Those two perspectives are what I like to refer to as those of human beings and human doings. 
 
Perhaps you would agree that at the time of our text, Martha was more so operating from the perspective of a human DOING while Mary was operating more from the perspective of a human BEING.
 
Martha was keenly focused on the business of being busy... tending to her guests... seeing that their needs were met... more than likely running around like a chicken with her head cut off... and probably with a few smudges of flour on her cheeks and forehead as evidence of her hard work and dedication. 
 
Kind of like the Reverend Mother going about her daily tasks to ensure that all of the nuns under her supervision stayed in line... maintaining a high degree of decorum at all times.
 
It would appear that Martha as well as the Reverend Mother believed their value and self-worth was found in DOING things.
 
And more often than not, isn’t that what we tend to focus on?  DOING things? 
 
Think about the general conversations we have when we meet someone new.  Most of the time, somewhere in those initial few moments, someone is likely to ask, “So what do you do?” or “What kind of work do you do?”
 
That is because we tend to define who we are and who others are based on whatever it is that we DO. 
 
And yet, it is not by accident that we are called human BEINGS instead of human DOINGS.
 
It is not our doings that give us value.  It is not our busy-ness that determines our self-worth. Rather, it is our BEING that is the central core of who we are and beyond that, it is what most accurately reflects WHOSE we are.
 
It is so easy for us to get caught up in all the things that we are doing... hoping that someone will acknowledge all of our efforts and extraordinary contributions.  However, the reality is... it is not really about what WE do... but about being still and acknowledging what God is doing in and through us.
 
The psalmist wrote in Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”  And in Psalm 37:7 we read, “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him…”
 
Moses told the Israelites in Exodus 14:14, “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
 
And yet, if the truth be told, it is uncomfortable for us to just be still.  We have become so conditioned to DOING... that simply BEING feels foreign to us. 
 
But let me suggest that this world might be a lot better off if we spent less time doing and set more time aside for just being still.
 
So, what would happen if... even for a few minutes... we were to intentionally just stop all of our DOING and instead spend time just BEING in the presence of God?
 
Perhaps we would be able to reflect on what happened when Jesus spoke to that storm in Mark 4 (39) and said, “Peace, be still,” ...we might be able to pray and ask God to speak peace to the storms in our lives that so often feel like they are going to overtake us.
 
And just maybe, we would be able to look at what has been happening around the world as well as right here at home and pray, like Paul, that the peace of God that “transcends all understanding, will guard [our] hearts and [our] minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).
 
When I pause to consider these times of questioning and uncertainty, it reminds me of the opening lines from a classic book I read many years ago.  It was entitled, “A Tale of Two Cities,” and was written by Charles Dickens.  The opening lines read:

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way. . .

And while Dickens wrote this book more than 160 years ago, during a time that is far different than the one we are living in today... his words seem rather fitting when we think about everything we have been experiencing over these last days, weeks, and months.
 
It is the best of times... yes, there is still good happening in the world... for example, the 2025 General Assembly just ended on Tuesday.  From the opening worship with the Rev. Dr. Bernice King to the closing with General Minister and President, Rev. Terri Hord Owens and the 3 living former General Ministers and Presidents, John Humbert, Dick Hamm and Sharon Watkins... it was truly heartening to witness believers from across the country and other parts of the world coming together... to be the disciples that Jesus calls us to be.
 
And yet, in the words of Dickens... it is also the worst of times... we need only to stop and think about the senseless loss of life that happened this past week in Gaza and the devastation following the recent floods in Texas... not to mention the pending cuts that will result in the loss of health care, food assistance, and other vital services to men, women, and children across the country... that ought to be more than enough for us to see that for many people, these really are the worst of times.
 
Then Dickens also went on to say that it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness. 
 
For all of the technological advances we have made... for all of the educational gains we have seen... we are still faced with unprecedented levels of foolishness on a daily basis. 
 
Just turn on your TV, watch for even a few minutes and see what people are willing to do in the name of entertainment.  Just watch the people on the road as you are driving down the highway... recklessly putting their lives and the lives of the people around them in danger.  You will see what I mean... this is the age of foolishness.
 
The truth is... Dickens’ description of the world in nineteenth century England is not as far removed from our world in the twenty-first century as we would like to think.
 
And although Dickens further stated it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness and that it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair... let me suggest that we do not have to live in darkness or despair because we do have hope and we do have the Light of Christ to show us the way.
 
And if we were to take a look back at our text for the morning, I think it would be safe to say that Mary fully understood the hope and light we have in Christ.
 
In fact, when Martha wanted Jesus to call Mary to task, what He said to her was:

Martha, dear Martha, you’re fussing far too much and getting yourself worked up over nothing. One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it—it’s the main course, and won’t be taken from her (MSG).

I do believe there is a message for us in all of this...
 
As we begin to mature, we start to lose some of our ability to DO things... to drive... to cook... to walk... and eventually even to talk. 
 
But no matter whatever else we may lose, we never lose the ability to BE.  
 
Keep in mind what Jesus said, “Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
 
Mary chose to just BE in the presence of Jesus and He said it would not be taken away from her.  And when we make the decision to simply BE in His presence... it will not be taken away from us either.
 
The Lord promised He would NEVER leave us nor forsake us and that He would be with us ALWAYS... even to the end of the age.  And so, we have a choice... we can busy ourselves with all of the DOING... or we can choose to find peace and comfort by BEING in the presence of the Lord.
 
Because eventually, the day will come for each of us when all of our doing will come to an end... but the promise is that our BEING... our presence with the Lord... that will never end... because He has made it possible for us to BE with Him for all of eternity.
 
Now for just a brief moment, I want to shift our attention back to the movie, SISTER ACT.  As the film moves toward the climax... Deloris, still disguised as Sister Mary Clarence, is kidnapped and taken back to Reno. 
 
When the other nuns try to rescue her from her would-be-assassins... they find themselves in the crosshairs of three gunmen... and that is when Deloris bravely steps out from behind the cover of the other nuns... telling the gunmen to leave the other nuns alone... and as she does so, she dares to stare down, Vince, the man who was responsible for her going into hiding in the first place... she tells him to “Calm down,” even as he is pointing his gun directly at her.
 
However, Vince is not able to pull the trigger... and he turns to one of his henchmen and tells him to do it... but the henchman says he can’t... declaring Deloris is still a nun.  Vince tries to convince him that it’s okay because she is “just a broad” ...but Reverend Mother comes to her defense... stating unequivocally, “I guarantee you, she is no broad... she is Sister Mary Clarence of St. Katherine’s Convent... she is a bottle of generosity, virtue, and love.  You have my word for it, gentlemen... she is a nun.”
 
But the Reverend Mother’s words seem to fall on deaf ears... and once again, Vince aims his gun at Deloris / Sister Mary Clarence... and she stands boldly in front of him... ready to sacrifice herself for the sake of the others... however, just in the nick of time the police detective comes to the rescue.
 
Now, what is so striking about this scene is the willingness of Sister Mary Clarence as well as the other nuns to put their own lives at risk for the sake of the others.
 
It is reminiscent of what Jesus said in John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
 
It is because of His great love for us, His friends, that Jesus the Christ willingly gave His life in exchange for ours so that we might have the gift of eternal life... and if we have faith and believe that Christ died for us... we have the blessed assurance that we will be with Him for all eternity. 
 
And that is really good news! 
 
Because just like things turned out for good at the end of SISTER ACT... we, too, will get our happily ever... as we receive the precious gift of spending eternity with Jesus.
 
In our text, Mary chose what was better and to a great extent, so did Sister Mary Clarence... and I want to encourage us to do the same... so that we, too, can find peace in the presence of Jesus... and be filled with the blessed assurance that comes from knowing Jesus is ours.
 
And if that is your story today, I want to invite you to stand and join in singing our Hymn of Discipleship: Blessed Assurance #543.
 

Back